I've never come across a company like
Elastic that believes in giving back and
believes in making changes to our community.
It's nice to work at a company
that supports the things you believe in.
Better to work in this company that
welcomes diversity.
I'm welcome here, I can feel it.
Volunteer Time Off is a gift that's
given to us so that we can give back to others.
I volunteer with River Valley Riders
because I believe in what they do
and I believe in the difference that
they make in their participants' lives
and even their volunteers' lives.
I started at Codebar because I always felt
that there was not enough diversity in tech.
That's my first motive.
We organize free coding workshops
between one student and one coach
and to allow people that didn't
have the chance to study computer science
to learn how to code.
Some people can really change their life.
I volunteer with the Girl Scouts and I use my VTO.
Anything I plan for my Girl Scouts
builds confidence, courage, and character.
Being able to divide the VTO up over
multiple days over a period of time has
allowed me to participate in this program.
I work with some very close
colleagues who do really amazing things
with their VTO like they go to another
country and help people
and I don't really have the bandwidth to make a huge
commitment like that, but I can help a little bit
on a regular basis in my own community.
So I was looking for a program that offered
horseback riding for kids and adults
with different abilities.
When I found this place
it was like a dream come true for me.
I think the first step is to set a safe environment
so that you can learn with your peers
and there is no judgement and where we guide you
and say okay that's normal that you don't know,
that's why you here, to learn.
I've learned a lot about myself by coaching
and by mentoring.
It's something that when you grow seniority,
as a developer you need to be able to teach other people.
I love sharing my horses with people
and especially people who are special.
Being around the horse actually improves their
life going forward and that kind of
investment is worth everything.
Kelly -- when I'm having a bad day, she can
pick up on it and she's like, "You can turn it around,"
and I can go home feeling confident.
Ms. Robin -- she's nice, I like that she's my Girl Scout leader
and she's kind of funny.
I wanted to give my daughter opportunities
that I didn't have.
I wanted her to know that she's
powerful and she can do anything she wants.
Girl Scouts allowed me to do anything.
Anything!
I know of people that started as a student
who now are working in tech.
They are becoming coaches.
That's when you say, ok, it's working.
So I hope that more people take advantage
of the VTO program because even if you're just
reading to kids in the library
change your community one little bit at a time.
I've worked for a lot of other companies
and I've never received Volunteer Time Off.
It's something that's amazing, awesome, exciting
and I encourage everybody at Elastic to use this time
to do something special.
You're given five days of VTO a year.
It's really, really a waste not to use it
and you will receive much more back.